I loved this book. I've read Seth Grahame-Smith's other novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and although I did enjoy that novel, this novel had a sense of realism to it because of the subject matter.

It's an alternate world and vampires are part of it (some particularly nasty vampires). Unfortunately for them, they have messed with the wrong guy....Abraham Lincoln our 16th President.

OMG how campy is that premise?!?! I love it.

The author cleverly interwove history with fantasy and although he may have taken liberties with the timing of these events, they allowed the story line to flow.

Capitalizing off of the somber features we know and love of Abe Lincoln, Grahame-Smith provides the reader a 'historical' account of Abe's life and the trials and travails that basically shaped him into the persona we know today. The author portrays Abe as an all too human individual who has been selected to basically save the world from vampires which is done through his political aspirations. This mission shapes his whole life, personally and politically.

But what readers need to know is that THIS IS NOT A HISTORY BOOK! I have read some reviewers complain how events are not historically correct and Abe was portrayed negatively. The beauty of this book was in the blending of reality and the paranormal.

Despite the bluntness with which it works vampires into the American fabric, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a fun read... As a secret history... it rests on a good idea, and stays true to its own internal logic and to the world it builds for itself.

Grahame-Smith's sophomore effort outlasts the kitsch value of its title, and freed from the constraints of updating (or defacing, depending on one's viewpoint) a revered literary gem, the writer delivers a well-constructed, surprisingly satisfying narrative that straight-faces its absurd premise: that Honest Abe, the 16th president of the United States, led a secret life slaying the fanged undead.